Several bird flu cases have been detected in more than a dozen states including Kerala, Gujarat, Haryana and Bihar since the past one week, forcing the government to be on high alert.
"Avian influenza has been confirmed by the National Institute of Security Animal Diseases," Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan wrote to the states.
As per the World Health Organisation (WHO), the H5N1 is a type of influenza that causes highly infectious, severe respiratory disease birds called avian.
With the reports of deaths of poultry birds due to bird flu, concerns have been raised over the consumption of chicken and eggs at this time. There has been a major drop in the prices of poultry prices in some regions.
Can you eat chicken and eggs in the times of bird flu?
WHO says that it is safe to eat chicken and eggs as long as it is properly prepared and cooked. Normal temperatures used for cooking can kill the virus, says the agency.
“As a standard precaution, WHO recommends that poultry, poultry products, and wild game birds should always be prepared following good hygienic practices and that poultry meat should be properly cooked,” says WHO.
The cases of virus spread in humans have been linked to home slaughter as well as handling of dead birds, before cooking. “These practices represent the highest risk of human infection and are the most important to avoid,” WHO advises.
Several health experts have negated such a possibility and advised the public to take precaution and not panic. The doctors said that the risk of human-to-human transmission of the H5N1 virus that causes the bird flu is very rare unless one works in proximity with the infected species of birds.
"People who work closely with poultry are at high risk of getting the infection. Otherwise, human to human transmission of the H5N1 virus is very rare. Hence there is no need to panic," Dr Harshal R. Salve, Associate Professor at Centre for Community Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) told IANS news agency.
